Most Disappointing of 2009

January 20th, 2010, 23:50

As a bit of fun while we wait for the Game of the Year results, let's do a Most Disappointing Game of 2009 poll. For consistency, I've based this on the GotY choices but I'm limited to 10 options by the forum software, so a couple of outliers had to go.

Usual disclaimers apply: the choices are RPG-ish games we cover with at least one English first release in 2009.

I know it may sound terribly wrong but of all the games on the list I was most disappointed with Risen.
I'm not saying Risen is a bad game,it's actually great.But somehow I expected more.I wasn't overhyped or anything but I was looking for a stronger gaming experience.
Maybe Divinity's "bugginess" was more disappointing but Risen was higher on my list.

Originally Posted by Kostaz
I know it may sound terribly wrong but of all the games on the list I was most disappointed with Risen.
I'm not saying Risen is a bad game,it's actually great.But somehow I expected more.I wasn't overhyped or anything but I was looking for a stronger gaming experience.
Maybe Divinity's "bugginess" was more disappointing but Risen was higher on my list.

This for me. I went back and forth between Risen and Divinity II but, ultimately, I suspected Divinity II had bitten off more than it could chew (flying Dragon form and so on) so I was disappointed that even though Risen was exactly what I expected - a cautious return to G1/G2 - it just fell a little flat and the ending really sucked.

I went with A Farewell to Dragons. I was happy with Risen and it did not dissapoint me at all. I also wasn't expecting it to be more than what it was .

I was torn between Divinity 2 and AFTD. Divinity's tower and dragon form were a real let down. Please, get that arcade action out of my divinity.

In the end I went with AFTD because there is so much potential with that title, but it failed to deliver. The frustrating and dissapointing part of the game is that you can see a really great game in there somewhere it just needs a little more tender loving care. If they ever patch the game then I would change my vote in a heartbeat.

It pains me to pick a PB game for most disappointing, but I was left with such a sour taste after forcing myself to finish what started out as a such a brilliant game, there was no other choice. Maybe an expansion ala NoTR can remedy this. I wish they would have announced this already (they have to do one right?) so I could have voted for it for most anticipated 2010.

Guess I'm pathetic, only have Drakensang and so far only put about 7 hours into it.
And the Torchlight demo.

And neither have disappointed me because I didn't expect much, heh.

Actually pleasantly surprised by Drakensang - so far doesn't seem like anything special but seems polished, I really like the skill/levelling system, and some of the characters actually have personality.

I need to do some serious game shopping soon though… guess I'll go with whatever wins game of the year first

Originally Posted by skavenhorde
The journey to get to the end is all that matters.

I half disagree.
Especially in the case of more story driven games, bad ending can ruin the overall impression of the game and the journey in retrospect.
I really wish developers would care about endings of their games more and plan the development accordingly.
Ending should be the climax of the game, not something that leaves sour undertones when thinking back about the experience.
Imagine Planescape: Torment with botched conclusion.
Also, knowing the ending sucks hurts the journey upon replay.

In the case of Risen it wasnīt only ending though, the whole second half was half-assed story- and quest-wise. Thatīs probably a reason why I have absolutely no urge to replay the game at all. Not that it matters, with the current influx of potentially interesting titles and all, but still.

I should've known better, because I HATED Fate (still think of it as the worst Diablo clone ever), but the hype got me and made me playing the demo. I think the game is awful, bad grafix, bad perspective, no story - nothing stands out, just blandness. I feel sorry for my stupid collector's ass that I will buy the game, though. Being a completist and showing that you can sell more copies physically than with the dreaded STEAM rootkit.

It is very sad that better (not great) Diablo clones, like Legend or Frater never got that much attention and tanked commercially.

Thought about voting Risen, but I didn't expect anything from the morons at Pirhana Bytes, and they didn't deliver less, so no disappointment for me.

After thinking about it, I think my vote is maybe a bit unfair though. Out of the games above that I have played (most of them) it is clearly the *worst* game… but that was not what the poll asked me I'm actually not sure that I'm outright disappointed with the game, since I paid only $15 for it and wasn't expecting much.

Probably should have voted for Divinity 2, since this is a game I *really* wanted to be good.. and while I've actually enjoyed the game very much, for the most part, there have also been frustrations. And right now I've actually stopped playing it after encountering a bunch of archers, at my own level, that kills me instantly from a distance. Two arrows, and I'm dead… WTF?!?

Risen, on the other hand, was great! Ending sucked, but the rest was just fine. Each to his own, but I really can't understand those complaints about the second "half" - where "half" refers to number of chapters, not playing time!!
Yes, they were quite linear.. but one of them was very short and took place inside the volcano (a quite nice dungeon) and the final one was wrapping things up. The last chapter was probably why Risen didn't get my GOTY vote, but going so far as to calling it disappointing??